Ski binding



0. MIOEN SKI BINDING Sept. 16, 1941.

Filed Jan. 14, 1939 Patented Sept. 16, 1941 Application January 14, 1939,1Seria1 In Sweden January 17, 1938 t Claims. (Cl. 28lI-- 11.35I

My present invention relates to ski bindings and has for its object to provide a ski binding which is of simple, reliable and. cheap construction and. which can be put. on and, removed from thefoot inthe simplest possible manner without the needof loosening, any fore-bindings.

The invention resides essentially in the provision, in a ski binding, of a spring (spiral, leaf, wire or similar spring) which is straight or practically straight in its unstretched condition and is adapted to serve as a support for the rear part of the heel of the shoe, said spring being arranged" to be attached to the ski by suitable means, e. g. adjustable bindings (straps, iron bandswires etc.), or to a toe support attaxzhed thereto,. in such manner that when fastening the ski binding around the foot the bending tension of the spring will be utilized in the first instance.

The attached drawing shows one embodiment of a ski binding according to this invention, Figure 1 showing a side view of the middle part of a ski with a ski binding attached thereto, Figure 2 a top view thereof and Figure 3 a cross section of the heel iron.

On the drawing toe iron of ordinary construction. For attachment around the heel of the shoe there is provided, in the shown embodiment, a special heel iron 3 having a bent profile, as may be seen in Figures 1 and 3, so that on the outside a guide or seat is formed for a spiral spring 4 which is straight in its unstretched position. As will be seen from Figure 1, the upper arc of the curved profile of the heel iron is made somewhat larger than the lower one in order to facilitate the insertion of the heel of the shoe in the aforementioned iron.

Attached to the ends of the spring are iron bands or runners 5 formed at the free ends of the heel iron 3.

to the ski under they may be fastened to this iron. The fastenings of the straps are, as shown in Figure 1, made wider than the running iron 5 so that a stop 9 is formed against which the inner ends of the guides 6 provided on the heel iron sports shoes, thus fixing the position of the heel iron.

stop it; By suitably adjusting. the length of. the running irons 5 reckoned firom. the spring. sup.- port. to the aforementioned stop, the spring 4 can be given a suitable preliminary tension before the. actual load tension sets in because of the trampin'g. down intothe heel: iron :By the arrangement described: above an eflective; ski bindinggis obtained in as much as the foot is always keptpressed against the toe-iron with a spring tension: which canbe regulated beforehand within a wide: margin. If, for inthat the spring becomes strong and reliable. The spring need not thereby become too stiff, in that not only the bending tension set up 'in the spring because of the bending of the spring against the the ski with the other foot.

The straps 8 may be fastened to the ski either under the toe-iron, as shown in the figures, or be attached in the usual manner to the toe-iron fastening the straps under the toe-iron the heel will be drawn downwards against the ski, the foot being thereby held more firmly than by a fastening to the toe-iron.

The strap 8 can be joined with the spring 4 either by being inserted through pressed slits in the runners 5, 1, as is shown in the figures, or manner, e. g. by having the end of the runner supporting an ordinary buckle. Thanks to the resiliency provided the tension in the straps can be reduced considerably as compared with non-resilient bindings without reducing the firmness of the hold of the foot. Naturally, the life of the strap is hereby prolonged. By the arrangement shown a further assurance is had against too great a tension in the strap because it is possible so to adjust the conditions by suitably dimensioning the holes in the runners that the strap will slide in the runner if the strap tension should become too great.

Naturally, a ski binding according to this invention comprising a spring which is straight or practically straight in its unstretched state can be made without a special heel iron, in which case the spring will rest directly against the heel. If in such a case no special heel iron is provided, the inside portion of the spring may be equipped with a bulge or something similar which fits into the groove in the heel of the shoe. The straps may also be replaced by rods, irons, et cetera which may be joined in a suitable manner with the ski or toe-iron respectively.

I claim:

1. A ski binding comprising a toe piece adapted to receive the toe of a boot and a heel grip adapted to hold the boot firmly in said toe piece, said heel grip comprising two side members extending along the sides of the boot and a rear member connecting together the rear ends of said side members said rear member consistmg of Stlfi 30 the heel iron is slidable rearwardly on the straps helical spring of substantially the same length as the width of the heel and extending substantially transversely of the ski and adapted to be subjected to a transversal bending action when acted upon by the boot during skiing.

2. A ski binding comprising a toe pieoe adapt- 25 iron straps forming I the spring.

ed to receive the toe of a boot and a heel grip adapted to hold the boot firmly in said toe piece, said heel grip comprising two side members extending along the sides of the boot, a rear mem- 5 her connecting together the rear ends of said side members, and consisting of a stiff helical spring of substantially the same length as the width of the heel and extending substantially transversely of the ski and adaptedto be sub- 10 jected to a transversal bending action when acted upon by the boot during skiing,'and a heel iron shaped to fit the heel of the shoe and forming a bearing for said spring.

3. A ski binding comprising a toe piece adapted 15 to receive the toe of a boot and a heel grip adapted to hold the boot firmly in said toe piece, said heel grip comprising two side members extending along the sides of the boot, a rear member connecting together the rear ends of said side 20 members, and consisting of a stiff helical spring extending along its whole length substantially transversally of the ski and adapted to be subjected to a transversal bending action when acted upon by the boot during skiing, a pair of rigid the rear portions of said side members, and a heel iron forming a bearing for said spring and being slidable longitudinally on said straps.

4. A ski binding as claimed in claim 3, in which from a forward end position in which the heel iron engages-with stop abutments on the straps under the action of an initial bending tension in OLE MIoEN. 

